The World Wonders
by Vn70072
Summary: A new front has opened against the Neuroi in the pacific. Barkhorn, Hartmann, Yeager, and Lucchini are assigned to reinforce the pacific fleet's understrength witch squadrons, joining a crew of original characters. But a nefarious Neuroi strategy will put some of the witches in a fight for their lives...
1. Sho-Go

The sun was sinking lower and lower on the horizon as another day in the south pacific drew to a close. Blue seas continued to churn below, while the sky slowly streaked with reds and violets. Already the edges were going dark.

Across the twilight sky four witches flew in close formation. In the lead was a stern-looking officer with her brown hair split into twintails. Her chest was adorned with numerous citations and ribbons from the Karlsland military, worn despite the discomfort they posed on the last leg of the group's journey.

To her right was a blonde, her blue eyes alight, the tips of her hair black. Her uniform, though also typical for a Karlsland officer, couldn't have been more different than her flight leader's. Her only ornamentation was her rank insignia, and the uniform itself seemed badly wrinkled.

Flying even with the blonde but opposite her was a redhead trailing bunny ears. Goggles were perched on her forehead, but if asked she would say the group's flight wasn't fast enough for her to need them.

To her left, furthest back in the formation, was another girl with her hair pulled into twintails, but these were much more relaxed. Cat ears poked up from her black hair, but her playful antics from earlier had given way to yawn-inducing fatigue.

Together, Barkhorn, Hartmann, Yeager, and Lucchini descended toward a virtual armada of ships concentrated in the ocean below. "I can't wait to get down there and sleep," Francesca stifled another yawn.

"Just tuck in on my wing," Shirley said, offering her junior a warm smile. "I'll get you there safely."

"That's not all I'd like to tuck in on," Francesca said teasingly.

Barkhorn shot her a dirty look. "You already slept through most of the briefing! How much more rest could you need? And you!" She rounded on Hartmann, clearly reminded of something. "You were late for the mission briefing. I expect better of -"

"It was too early!" protested Erica. "How can they expect us to study the mission effectively like that?"

"It was at 0900!" Barkhorn clenched her teeth. "Landing order is myself, Hartmann, Yeager, and then Luchinni." As ever, she tried to deflect everything with business.

The reason for their long trek across the ocean was a new front against the Neuroi. The chain of islands to the west was a Liberion colony, but a new Neuroi nest formed in the area and the islands quickly fell. Below them were the dozens and dozens of ships sent to take part in liberating the islands. They ranged from humble tenders to the mighty Iowa-class battleships of the Liberion navy.

The four witches sent over from the 501st were intended to bolster this fleet's own witch wing – a primary squadron assigned to the speedy fleet carriers – and a secondary group that flew from the smaller escort carriers.

Three minutes later all four witches were safely aboard the fleet carrier that the other witches were based on. As Luchini lowered into the hangar, Barkhorn was already out of her striker unit. Mechanics waved casually to her and went to work on her striker. Efficient, she liked that.

"So, are you looking forward to your _other_ mission here, 'Trudy?" More of Hartmann's blithe behavior, Barkhorn didn't like that at all.

"It's an important duty," Barkhorn said proudly, unslinging her twin machine guns and stowing them in the same rack that held her striker unit. "With how rare witches are, every one of them needs to be as proficient as possible." She had been assigned to oversee the training of a witch unit that had so far made abysmal scores in combat.

"VW-9 though," Shirley was saying, shaking her head slightly. "I haven't heard good things about that unit."

"What have you heard about them?" Erica blinked. She hadn't heard about the squadron by name until Minna's preliminary briefing mentioned it, but if it was with a chiefly Liberion task force, it made sense that Shirley would know more about it.

"Well, it's really more one out of the three of them that has me worried." Yeager completed the shut down sequence on her striker, and as she clambered out, her long ears and bunny tail receded. "Flight Lieutenant Keyes, she was originally part of the Afrika campaign. But her entire squadron was wiped out in a Neuroi ambush."

Erica gasped, gaping in shock. "She was the only survivor?"

Shirley nodded grimly. "Her power helped see her through, she can regenerate harm to herself and her striker. It couldn't help her squadronmates though..."

"I've heard of her," Lucchini, her striker unit settled and now tended to by the mechanics, had come prancing over. "They call her 'Jinx' 'cause everyone thinks she's bad luck."

"Welcome to the _Lexington_," called a voice, and the four witches turned to see a figure striding toward them. It was another witch, her hair black and shoulder length. Her eyes were an icy, chilling blue, and a pistol poked from a holster on her left hip. Overall, she had an intense bearing and looked like she wasn't someone to mess with. "I'm Squadron Leader Evans." The unit patch on the shoulder of her uniform showed the beefy head of a shark, its teeth rendered in great detail, its eyes ominous, and its hide striped white and black. "Of the Tigersharks." She snapped a salute, which Barkhorn and the others – slowly in the case of Hartmann – returned.

"Well, if it isn't someone from Liberion's hat, eh?" Shirley adopted an over the top rendition of the accent of that particular Britanian Commonwealth nation.

Evans – Kyra to her few close friends – snorted. "The flight was uneventful I hope?"

"Yep, boring as watching paint dry," Erica chipped in, smiling. "So, where's the rest of your squadron?"

"Down in the mess," explained Kyra. "I imagine you're hungry so we'll head there first, and then one of my officers can show you to your quarters. We keep all the witches close together, in the officers' quarters block closest to the hangar."

The four remaining Tigersharks were in the officer's mess, enjoying the rare treat of ice cream with the rest of the crew. As she lead the 501st members toward them, Kyra gave a sharp whistle. One by one their heads snapped around, and they rose from their seats. First was a bespectacled witch with the iron X-flag of a Karsland soldier on her uniform. "_Hauptmann_ Rebecca Kauffman, Karlsland," she said, her tone crisp but pleasant.

"Warrant Officer Megumi Sendai, of the Fuso Empire." This one was taller than her squadron mates save Kyra, her black hair pulled into twin buns. She had a bright smile, and a familiar looking sailor-type uniform that lead to Erica and Luchini exchanging a grin.

"Flight Lieutenant Katie Windsor, Britania." She was blond, her hair trimmed short. She wore a leather jacket, and had aviator goggles loose around her neck.

The fourth witch to introduce herself had also been the last to stand, and now leaned close to Katie. "I'm Pascuala Santamaria, flight lieutenant, Hispania." She made a little bow and then smiled at the four newly arrived witches. "Gertrude Barkhorn," she said, pointing to the proficient Karslander. "Erica Hartmann, the Blond Knight of Karlsland!" The disheveled blonde grinned and rubbed her nose. "Charlotte Yeager." The redhead stood proudly. "And Francesca Lucchini."

"That's me~" Lucchini said cheerfully. "So, how long are we supposed to be assigned to this squadron?"

"Till our reinforcements from Dacia arrive," said Kyra. "They're midway through their training course now." Witch academies existed all over the world, part pride in each nation wanting the foundation of its own corps, and part pragmatism in case the Neuroi managed to destroy one. Only a few usually had an active class at any given time due to how rare witches were, and the Tigersharks were lucky to have the next batch to graduate earmarked for them.

"It's a shame they can't figure out a way to speed up the process," Shirley rubbed her chin in thought, her mind always on how to get things done faster.

Barkhorn frowned. "Speeding it up will do more harm than good if it leads to poor caliber witches. We can't afford heavy losses from hasty training."

Kyra nodded and gave Barkhorn an appraising eye. "From what I've read of your record, I think you can handle the unit." Her expression softened slightly as she looked back down at her meal, but then she looked faintly unhappy. "I'd prefer to do the remedial training personally, but operating one of our star witch squadrons on the front lines doesn't leave much time. If I'm not flying missions, I'm involved in planning missions."

Barkhorn snapped a precision salute. "You can count on me, ma'am!"

Still holding her bowl, Megumi took another spoonful of ice cream, her expression melting as the sweet treat did. "Now grab a bowl and sit on down!"

There was a cheer from the present Strike Witches as they bustled over to the food line.

* * *

The starry night had come and gone over the mighty task force. One of the smaller carriers in the group was the _Gambier Bay_, home to VW-9's three witches. Amidst the rest of the crew they ate breakfast, two of them together but the third off eating with some of ship's regular pilots. Flight Lieutenant Elizbeth Keyes, the most senior of the witches, should have been in command of the unit, but with the Africa black mark on her record, she was probably lucky she hadn't been drummed out altogether. Instead, the eighteen year old Liberion redhead was going to be among those getting special training from one of Karlsland's hardest aces.

Lieutenant Jeanette Roy sat with the squadron's other witch, Ensign Hikari Senka. Jeanette was a plump blonde in her mid teens and wore glasses over her blue eyes. Her uniform was crisp and carried the few awards she had so far garnered. Command did not really agree with her, although VW-9's size made it easier to manage than the likes of the Tigersharks, particularly with the reinforcements the unit had just received.

Hikari Senka hailed originally from Fuso, but had grown up in Liberion. As a mark of her heritage, her striker unit – despite being an FM-2 of Liberion manufacture – was painted up with Fuso's distinct sun and moon emblem. She was small and slender, her hair a shade of violet noticeable even from across the dining hall. Fusos had such odd hair colors sometimes.

Hikari was no stranger to combat. However, she hated it. Going out to fight always left her feeling like a dogfight had already started in her belly. She much preferred operating as a scout, which her powers were very useful for, but the imperatives of the war dictated otherwise.

"Say," Hikari said, looking up from her breakfast at Jeanette. "You're from Gallia, right?" The blonde nodded idly. "Then... can I ask why you're still out here fighting? I mean, the Strike Witches liberated Gallia..." Gallia and many parts of Europa had been damaged in the fighting. Neuroi hives remained to be stamped out elsewhere around the world, but many displaced Gallians had returned home to work on rebuilding their homeland.

Jeanette slowly chewed her food, mulling over her answer before replying. "I could join in Gallia's reconstruction. But as a witch, I can keep fighting, and make sure no one else has to watch her homeland burn." Her words were calm and measured, but they radiated with an intensity that sent a chill down Hikari's spine.

A ripple spread across the room, first of silence, then of hushed whispers. Looking, Hikari saw the familiar sight of Squadron Leader Evans striding across the galley toward them. Her animal features – those of a white tiger – always seemed appropriate to Hikari, for Kyra was beautiful but most definitely not someone to mess with.

Kyra stopped in the midst of VW-9. "Girls, as of today you'll be assigned under Lieutenant Barkhorn. She'll be tasked with getting your performance up to that of a regular combat unit. Yes, even you, Senka," Kyra's lips quirked ever so slightly as the girl jolted. "Meet her on the flight deck in ten minutes." With that, Kyra turned and departed.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Senka, Roy, and Keyes all stood side by side on the carrier's flight deck. Their strikers were loaded into racks behind them, and Lieutenant Barkhorn stood before them, hands clasped behind her back, her stance iron rigid, and her brown eyes fierce. "VW-9," Barkhorn began. "Sparrow Flight, as your patches say. I've been assigned to train you up to a better standard. Your accuracy is 37% below normal. There have been avoidable training incidents that damaged equipment." At that, Hikari's ears turned pink, and her eyes dropped from Barkhorn's feet to her own. "And your scramble times are double that of even average units. Reconnaissance is about all you do well. Today we start on fixing that." She lowered her hands to her sides. "Mount your strikers and grab your training weapons. Launch and wait up there with Lieutenant Hartmann. I'll be watching your launches from here." She tapped her ear. "Lieutenant, how's the weather?"

Above, one of the witches was already airborne, checking the flight conditions. "It's great!" Erica called back over the radio, and as everyone watched her, the witch rolled into a tight corkscrew.

As the girls dutifully clambered into their strikers and began preflight checks, Shirley watched from the hangar deck of a neighboring fleet carrier. "So, do you really think Barkhorn can get them in shape?"

Kyra leaned against the storage rack of her striker unit. "Wouldn't have asked the lieutenant to do it if I thought she'd be wasting her time." VW-9 was assigned to the seventh fleet, centered around the landing craft currently disembarking troops and engineers to the island of Leyte, those troops assigned to build a forward base for conducting operations against the Neuroi. The group had a few battleships and cruisers, but was mostly composed of destroyers and smaller carriers. In comparison, the third fleet where the Tigersharks were assigned was home to the biggest, fastest, most powerful ships. Despite being assigned to separate fleets, Kyra was still in overall strategic command of Sparrow flight, and that meant their well-being was her responsibility.

"So, this is your striker?" Shirley leaned over the Commonwealth pilot's striker unit. It was painted blue, its structure thicker than most striker units thanks to the armor it carried. While not completely boxy and graceless, it had a beefy look to it. "An F6F? If you're using Liberion hardware, why not go with the P-51?" The redhead's love of her P-51 and its Merlin engine were almost as legendary among witches as her speed.

"Durability," Kyra said. "Higher climb rate too. It's an air-cooled engine which limits its power a bit behind your Merlin, but it can take a hell of a beating and keep me flying."

"If you were faster you wouldn't have to worry about being hit," Shirley winked playfully at the squadron leader.

Kyra gave a snort of vague amusement and turned her eyes to the ascending Sparrows. Roy had gone first, followed by Keyes and finally Senka.

"Alright," Barkhorn's voice crackled in their earpieces. "I'm on my way up." As her striker unit fired up, a glowing blue circle of runes appeared beneath her. Barkhorn hurled along the carrier deck before launching skyward. "Climb to 7,000 meters. We'll practice your maneuvering. Then we'll do target practice, followed by dueling drills. Whoever isn't paired with another will take turns dueling me. Then an engagement drill against a Neuroi mock-up."

Shirley snickered. "Neuroi mock-up, I wonder if they realize that will be 'Trudy herself?" In addition to a practice machine gun, she was carrying a slender rifle that projected magical energy in a beam similar to what Neuroi fired, if dialed back so no one would be injured. It had proven a valuable training tool in familiarizing witches for what they would be up against in the field.

"We'll see." Overhead, planes could be heard rumbling along the flight deck. Scout planes went up in search of the enemy. The Neuroi hive lay to the west, further into the islands, but the invaders could come from any direction, and so the planes launching from all the carriers spread a wide net.

* * *

"Senka, tighten those turns!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Hikari rolled into her next turn, tucking her weapon in tight to her body. In flight, the scout had the features of a fox squirrel, tan ears poking from her scalp and a bushy two-tone tail protruding from the back of her uniform.

Above her, Elise was coming over in a loop to pounce on Hikari from above. Her red hair feathered with the manifestation of her magic, and just like the red-tailed hawk, she dove down on her prey.

"You're more agile than she is! Use it to your advantage!"

Elise's gun chattered, spraying paint pellets down toward Hikari. With a squeak the girl rolled evasively, wondering what Barkhorn's advice was even supposed to mean. Rolling onto her back, she fired her own marker at Elise.

Despite the weight of her heavy striker, Elise went into an evasive spiral. It threw Hikari's aim off enough that she was reduced to spraying shots in her target's general direction.

Elise pulled out of her dive, gaining speed as she raced toward Hikari. The junior witch turned sharply and headed away, but Elise rolled onto her side, aimed, and fired. Hikari felt momentary relief as she saw Elise firing at her and clearly missing, until she plowed headlong into the stream of markers aimed out in front of her.

Splattered with paint, Hikari cried out and spluttered as she got a mouthful of orange dye. "Senka!" Barkhorn's stinging reprimand rang in her ear. "Don't break in a straight line! Loop! Dive! Turn! Anything to make yourself a harder target!"

Hikari shot a bitter glance skyward, where Roy was locked in a furious aerial duel with Barkhorn. Despite being occupied with the Gallian flier, Barkhorn had still been finding time to critique Elise and Hikari on their duel.

"No hard feelings?" Elise offered Hikari a small smile. The redhead had an usually heavy striker unit, meant for carrying high-explosive rockets or other ordnance under the wings. Though finite in number, they were good at blowing large holes in Neuroi in a hurry.

"Mm!" Hikari managed a very weak smile of her own as she wiped away more orange paint. She turned her blue eyes to the still-ongoing duel between Roy and Barkhorn. The ace's speed was incredible, there was no hesitation in any of her maneuvers. Her aim was sharp, but Jeanette managed to evade it.

Barkhorn managed to settle in on Jeanette's six o'clock position, and stayed there with her superior agility. Jeanette's more sluggish striker, the heavy, robust P-47 could not shake her. Jeanette increased her speed, but Barkhorn was still very nearly able to keep up with her. Jeanette wouldn't be able to get away fast enough, for Barkhorn was already leveling her marker.

Suddenly Jeanette lost both speed and altitude. Barkhorn, surprised, flew right over her. Jeanette raised her heavy machine gun and opened fire, spraying the sky with marker pellets. Barkhorn dove sharply, spinning in midair as she went. She fired on Jeanette, splattering the lieutenant with paint.

"Not bad," said Barkhorn, lowering her marker. She glanced down and saw a telltale orange splotch on the side of her striker. Frowning, she rubbed it off. "Now, again."

Hikari sighed, her heart already sinking. She would rather be out there with the scout planes, using her powers to find the Neuroi. That was her strength. She preferred to leave fighting to the other witches. But what Barkhorn said next sent Hikari's already glum mood right to the sea floor.

"Senka, you're with me. Roy, you will duel Keyes."

* * *

The sun was setting by the time the three witches of VW-9 returned to their carrier. Hikari went directly back to the quarters the trio shared aboard the small ship, while her two flightmates went to the galley. She scrubbed her face, partly to try and get the orange paint off, and partly against the tears leaking down her cheeks. Training under Barkhorn _really_ reminded her why she hated combat. Even her own comrades could outfly Hikari, and so Barkhorn had made mincemeat of her, both in flight and in unending correction of Hikari's mistakes.

Witch units were typically more relaxed than regular military, but Barkhorn seemed to think that the important role witches played in the war meant there should be a corresponding increase in discipline and preparation.

Even though Hikari knew she should have been hungry, she didn't feel like eating. She had been about to disappear under the covers when the door swung open. In marched Elise, her red hair still slumped with sweat from their earlier exertions. Behind her was Jeanette, the blonde smiling gently at her junior witch.

"What are you guys doing here?" Hikari wondered. But then she noticed the girls were carrying food trays.

"We figured you wanted to be alone, but we all need to eat," said Elise, setting a tray down beside Hikari. "So we figured we'd grab something and have ourselves a little dinner party here."

A warm smile lit Hikari's face, and she found herself touched by the concern of her flightmates. "Hey," said Jeanette. "We're all allies in enduring Barkhorn's wrath, we ought to stick together." The blonde seated herself legs crossed upon her bunk and set her tray in her lap.

"She likes _you_," said Hikari, pulling the cover off her tray. It had been piled high with a little bit of everything, potatoes, chicken, vegetables, even some sweets. All armies ran on their stomachs, but for witches that went double and their rations were increased accordingly.

"She's hard on all of us," said Jeanette, lowering a steaming mug of coffee and rubbing her neck.

"Yes, but at least she didn't tell you that you ought to just wash out," Hikari said glumly, even as she began eating. The presence of her comrades helped lift her spirits, even if they were all borderline misfits as she was.

Jeanette looked momentarily stumped, trying to find the right words to soothe her junior after such a stinging remark. "She's just trying to get you to do your best. 'Trudy _wants_ you to prove her wrong!"

Elise burst out laughing, drawing the critical gazes of her companions. "Sorry, I was just imagining Barkhorn's reaction if she heard you calling her that."

"Yeah..." Hikari leaned back, smiling a little. "_Discipline_!" Her voice was half mock-screech, half her best imitation of Barkhorn's deeper voice and rigid bearing.

Laughter rolled around the small cabin again, and Hikari felt more of the tension from their overwhelming training fade away. During the worst of it, Hikari had wondered if she should just give up, but now she felt a stronger sense of belonging in her flight.

* * *

The following morning, Kyra stood on the _Lexington's_ flight deck, flanked by the other seven witches currently in the Tigersharks, all preparing for launch. The night before, scout planes had detected several Neuroi moving together eastward along the northern edge of the island cluster. It was suspected they were looking to hook around and attack from the east, catching their enemies by surprise, or that perhaps they were looking to attack supply chains. Either option was unacceptable, and so the third fleet's admiral had sent his ships steaming northward by cover of darkness, so that they would be within striking range at daybreak. As the sun rose, witches and fighters alike prepared for launch. Crews milled about the flight decks, aviators clambered into their craft, and the flight decks were alive with the sound of engines roaring to life and propellers slicing the air.

"We're all ready," reported Rebecca, Kyra's second in command. Her hair was an odd bluish-gray, almost metallic. Considering her affinity for tinkering, it seemed only natural. She tapped her ear. "And the fighter squadrons also report ready for launch."

"Good," Kyra nodded smartly. Radar contact had confirmed the Neuroi presence, three of them. At last report, the Neuroi had swung slightly southeast. It seemed likely they knew the fleet was there, even if they weren't moving to attack just yet.

"Too bad Trudy couldn't come with us," said Erica, the tips of her hair fading from blond to black. "She's going to miss this fight..."

"Yes, well," said Shirley, her striker already hovering along the ground. "She's technically assigned as commander of Sparrow flight for the duration of their training, so that means she can't run off to party."

"We've got launch clearance," said Kyra, turning to her witches. "Let's move." Their engines rose in a whining, buzzing chorus of distinct tones, and by wing pairs they sped down the flight deck before going airborne.

"Squadron leader," called Katie. "The Neuroi are turning south and spreading out. Time to intercept, twenty minutes." As the witches headed out from the carrier, they moved into a pair of the 'Finger four' formation Karlsland had originally created. One witch flew lead with her wingmate trailing slightly to one side, while number three flew to the other side of the leader and slightly behind and their wingmate further to the side and back. Kyra headed one formation, while Lieutenant Yeager headed the other.

* * *

Francesca Lucchini shielded her eyes from the sun and peered across the horizon. "I see them!" The perky twelve year old called, pointing to a black speck. As the others spotted that Neuroi, the distances closed. Its glittering black shell reflected the newly-minted rays of sun, but there was no sign of the other two.

"Squadron leader, I can sense the other Neuroi around here somewhere." That was Katie again, using her sensory powers. The same perceptions enhanced her reaction times in combat. "They're close!"

"Trying for an ambush," muttered Kyra.

"Betcha they're hiding in the clouds," said Megumi Sendai, raising her machine gun and priming it.

A lance of red slashed through the air in front of the formation. Witches cried out in alarm and broke away from the attack. Clouds boiled away from where the beam had fired, revealing another Neuroi lurking like a deadly insect in a woodpile.

"Break by flights!" ordered Kyra. "Yeager, pop that one! We'll draw their fire!" The Squadron leader climbed, bringing Katie, Rebecca, and Erica with her.

"Katie, where is the core?" asked Shirley.

Katie could sense a Neuroi's core at reasonably close ranges, and set her eyes on the Neuroi's oddly angled form as it emerged from the clouds. It had a teardrop-shaped body, triangular fins protruding up near its leading edge, and angular extensions along the sides that resembled folded wings. "It's front and center!"

At Shirley's signal, her formation broke again. Megumi and Pascuala took the lead while Shirley and Luchini hung back slightly. The lead pair opened fire, cracking open the Neuroi's shell. The Neuroi and its companion opened fire, spraying columns of ruby light that forced Megumi and Pascuala to break off and shield before they got a chance to fire on the exposed core.

That was, of course, the reason why Shirley and Luchini hung back. The girls opened fire on the multifaceted ruby that was the Neuroi's heart, but the invader banked just in time. Armor piercing bullets ripped into the shell immediately adjacent the existing hole, but failed to score a killing shot.

"Incoming drones!" Katie's voice rang through the ears of the Tigersharks, and as Kyra looked up, she saw a line of tiny flying tetrahedrons arcing toward them in a dive. Each had a single glowing dot on their forward facing, and they opened fire on Kyra's flight group. Kyra blurred forward, clearing the deadly beams, while Rebecca rolled gracefully around the attacks, and Erica and Katie threw up shields. Angry scarlet splashed off cool azure, while Kyra and Rebecca opened up on the leading drones.

Kyra's Bren light machine gun was famous or perhaps infamous for being, by the average soldier's measure, _too_ accurate for a machine gun, but she liked to know her rounds would go right where she wanted them. Rebecca on the other hand carried a 20mm cannon, its ammo capacity small compared to a machine gun but its rounds explosive.

"Where did the drones come from?" wondered Shirley as she lead her group on another attack run, trying to blast the previously-wounded Neuroi's core before it could regenerate over that weakness. "One of these, or the third Neuroi?"

"I don't know!" said Megumi, but her face broke out in a grin. "But the carrier fighters are catching up to us. They'll be here in just a few minutes!"

The extra firepower was good, but it concerned Kyra somewhat. While regular fighters were still usable against Neuroi, they tended to take heavy losses. On the other hand, the loss of a single witch was, even at the best of times, a force strength loss equivalent to at least a whole squadron of regular planes. In the end, Kyra welcomed the help.

* * *

Aboard one of the third fleet battleships, the fleet's commander, a craggy vice admiral stood listening to the reports rolling in. His planes were almost to the engagement zone, while his witches had already encountered two of the three Neuroi. The third was still unaccounted for, but could have been the source of the drones. Of course, it could have also been looking to attack the fleet itself. As such, the destroyers, cruisers, and battleships ringing the carriers were all on alert.

A cheer rang out across the bridge, almost eclipsing the news that had brought it: Evans and Kauffman had just brought down a Neuroi, thanks to its shell being softened by a group of fighters.

As the cheers subsided, a sailor spoke up. "Admiral, we have an incoming message from the seventh fleet."

Looking out the view ports, the admiral cracked a smile as he imagined the battle too distant to actually see. "Looking for the ballgame's score?" His voice was casual, confident, and he elicited a chuckle from several of the crew.

"Sir!" the sailor's tone of rising panic quickly cut through the laughter. "Task unit 77.4.3 reports they're under heavy Neuroi attack!"


	2. Flank Speed, Full Left Rudder

"General quarters, general quarters, all hands, man battle stations!" As the klaxon began to blare, Hikari jerked upright in bed. Elsewhere in the room, her flightmates were scrambling up, hastily pulling on uniforms. "All hands, man battle stations!"

"W-what's going on?" Hikari's voice shook with anxiety.

Elise gave a short, quiet laugh. "And why would any of us know more than you?"

"Good point..." Hikari followed the others out. Elise took the lead, the eldest's long legs carrying her through the carrier's corridors. Everywhere around them the ship was abuzz with frantic activity, gunners, aviators, damage control, and security personnel hurrying to their stations.

As they entered the hangar deck, Jeanette opened an intercom box. "This is Lieutenant Roy, bridge, what's going on?" Though Elise and Hikari couldn't hear the words spoken to her, they could see Jeanette's bespectacled face grow pale, and heard a muttered but heartfelt "_merde!_" as she slammed the handset down. "We've got to launch now! Multiple Neuroi are bearing down on us!"

Even as she slipped her legs into her striker, Elise couldn't hide her shock. "What?! How? Isn't the third fleet-"

"We don't know what happened to them," said Jeanette, dropping into her own striker and accepting her gun from a technician. "But Neuroi are here and we have to deal with them."

"Don't we need a plan?" Hikari sprouted the rounded ears and bushy tail of a fox squirrel as she activated her striker unit.

"Right now, the plan is get off this ship before they blow it up," Elise said, without looking at Jeanette. "We worry about the rest later."

Kicking their engines on at low power, the trio taxied to the elevator. The machinery groaned as it raised them to the flight deck, and Hikari couldn't help but wonder if it was an ill omen.

It had been frantic below deck, but out in the open, chaos reigned. Guns thundered, planes frantically launched, and crewman hurriedly dumped ordnance overboard. If the thinly-armored carriers were hit, the explosives would only worsen the situation.

Like shadows of death, four Neuroi approached out of the northern sky. Their diverse, often bizarre arrangements were hard for Hikari to even think of how to describe, especially against the numbing thought _we're gonna die_. The seventh fleet's already limited firepower had spread wide across the gulf last night, leaving only a dozen or so ships along the northern flank the Neuroi now advanced upon.

"What are you waiting for!?" The roar in their ears was the all too familiar voice of Lieutenant Barkhorn. Turning, the trio saw that Barkhorn was already strapped into her striker and ready to launch. The stern Karlslander came buzzing over. "We're launching immediately." She suited words to action, a glowing circle appearing below her on the ground as her striker unit revved up.

Smoke curled into the sky, a deliberate shroud raised from the smokestacks of the group's destroyers. But it could not obscure the rapid approach of the Neuroi, quickly closing to the comparatively limited range of their weapons. The task unit, a half-dozen small carriers and a similar number of destroyers and destroyer escorts had turned east and accelerated, but the carriers' maximum speed was pitifully slow.

The lead Neuroi opened fire. "MOVE!" screamed Barkhorn. Elise and Jeanette throttled up and barreled down the flight deck, but Hikari stood transfixed in fear by the beam. Darting over, Barkhorn grabbed her by the hand and kicked her own striker unit up to full speed. A red lance carved through the aft of the carrier, slicing off the rear-facing 5-inch gun, several dozen square feet of hull, and one of the ship's propellers.

Hikari's own striker accelerated, the girl still being pulled along by Barkhorn. The Neuroi fired again, slashing across the carrier in the diagonal. Ordnance and fuel exploded, rupturing the flight deck, punching out through the hull, pulverizing fighters and vaporizing crewman. Hikari and Lieutenant Barkhorn launched clear of the carrier's bow, and seconds later the ship was hit again. The remaining combustibles aboard exploded, the ship breaking up as it quickly sank.

Hikari's chest felt as if squeezed by a furious giant, her breaths coming with a great effort as she looked back upon the shattered _Gambier Bay_, utterly aghast.

Elise primed her machine gun and glanced down at the remaining twelve ships in the task group. "What the hell is the _Johnston_ doing?" she wondered, seeing one of the destroyers make a hard left turn out of formation. It steamed straight toward the Neuroi, its five-inch guns spitting shells as fast as the crews could load them.

"The only thing any of us can do," Jeanette's tone was again the cold intensity with which she had spoken about saving other lands from the Neuroi's destructive touch. "Stand and fight. The ships can't outrun the Neuroi, and with the third fleet MIA..."

"We're the only thing between the Neuroi and the transports, the beachhead," Barkhorn said, gritting her teeth. Only now did the lieutenant relinquish Hikari's hand. "You okay?" she looked seriously over at Hikari, but then her features softened ever so slightly with what might even call a smile.

Her mouth so dry she thought she'd be unable to speak, Hikari nodded. "Good," Barkhorn continued. "We have draw their fire! Hikari, you're on my wing. Roy, Keyes, go, go, go!" Planes buzzed through the sky, naval aviators clawing their way skyward to engage the Neuroi threatening their brothers.

Barkhorn and Hikari entered impromptu formation with a group of Wildcat fighters circling skyward. They banked toward one of the lead Neuroi, which was even now setting its sights on the next carrier.

Motes of red light gathered near the Neuroi's prow, but a burst of machine gun fire and the impact of several wing-mounted rockets from the wildcats smashed into the firing point. The Neuroi's hull shattered into glasslike shards and the light faded, but the Neuroi was already preparing to fire again.

Barkhorn's twin machine guns roared to life, sounding more like buzzsaws than anything. Joining her projectiles hitting the Neuroi were the shots from Hikari's rifle, an M1E7, a variant of a standard battle rifle, meant for sniping.

Still working to regenerate from the first hole, the Neuroi was forced to shy away as more lead pulverized its hull. Red beams flashed from its sides, cutting through a wing of planes attempting to attack it from above. More beams slashed at the two witches, but Barkhorn quickly moved in front of Hikari and raised her shield, protecting them both. "Can you sense where its core is?"

"N-negative!" Hikari could sense that the Neuroi had a core and wasn't just a shell, but her sensory powers weren't optimized for this kind of work.

Slicing through another group of fighters, the Neuroi veered back toward the ships below. Smoke from the screening destroyers largely obscured the group, but the Neuroi could still fire half-blind and hope to hit something.

From two positions amidships, smoke and fire flared from the hull of the lone destroyer charging the Neuroi formation. At first, Hikari thought it must have been hit, but then she realized they were exhaust plumes from missile launches. The wire-guided projectiles arced skyward, blossoming brilliant orange on impact. Neuroi fragments sprayed everywhere as the alien flier's hull was pounded, and it gave a warbling wail of pain.

"There!" Barkhorn called, triggering her radio as well. Through the smoke, she could see the gleaming red core within the battered black hull. She opened fire, as did Hikari and Jeanette, while Elise covered the blonde from another Neuroi's beam. More of the Neuroi's shell was chipped away by the gunfire, and Barkhorn adjusted her aim, watching her rounds track closer and closer to the core.

Suddenly Hikari caught a glint of red out of the corner of her eye. Wordlessly, she ceased fire and barrel-rolled over Barkhorn. Her shield went up just in time, blocking the beams of a third Neuroi from frying both of them.

Barkhorn smiled, but it was one showing much teeth. "This isn't going to be easy," from her tone, it was hard to say how bothered by that fact she really was. "Sparrows," she said over the radio. "We have to stay mobile. Keep pressure up on the Neuroi, don't let them have so much as a second to focus on shooting the carriers."

The formation continued to steam eastward, the Neuroi gaining on them rapidly. The two destroyers still in formation turned about, veering away from their charges. The vessels were comparatively tiny to the Neuroi, but they were the biggest guns available, and their limited supply of Javelin wire-guided missiles were also potent.

In the confusion, the lead Neuroi's hull was quickly healing. A formation of Avenger bombers approached, releasing their single wire-guided missiles as they dove. Crimson lances played through the formation, detonating most of the planes and their recently-launched payloads. Of the few missiles that made it through, some missed, but the rest detonated against the hull and destroyed one of the weapon points.

Unfortunately, as ever the damage was not permanent. Within seconds, the weapon point was functional again. It built up a charge before sweeping a beam across the sky. The surviving avengers from that group lit like candles, burned out, and went dark, scattering debris toward the ocean below.

Swarmed by fighters, harassed by witches, and pounded by the destroyers, the Neuroi advance on the carriers was briefly stalled. But the quartet returned fire mercilessly, slicing through fighter formations, forcing witches to shield, and striking one of the destroyers amidships.

Smoke and fire erupted from the breach, and though the destroyer slowed, it did not disengage. Barkhorn banked sharply toward the Neuroi that had fired on the destroyer, Hikari following close on her wing. Bullets pounded across the invader's shell, fragging several weapon hardpoints and briefly exposing the core.

Seeing an opportunity, Hikari sighted on the core and fired, but narrowly missed it. A whine was heard as the Neuroi charged up to return fire, and the two witches briefly split, Hikari going high and Barkhorn breaking low. The beam sliced harmlessly between them, and with a mirrored corkscrew maneuver the witches reunited.

Barkhorn ejected the spent magazines from her machine guns. A deep frown creased her face as she slammed the new magazines home, knowing her limited ammunition supply wouldn't last long in this kind of fight. The same was true of her flightmates. "I'm going in close on the next pass," Barkhorn said, putting the safety on one of her machine guns. It would limit her firepower, but she'd be able to stay in the fight longer.

"Hai!" Hikari knew of the incredible strength Barkhorn's magic gave her. It went without saying Hikari would have to be ready to shield when they got that close. Perhaps if they were lucky, the other Neuroi would be unwilling to fire into their own midst.

* * *

Even as the third fleet continued to pound the two remaining Neuroi engaged to it, dismay and confusion rippled through the fleet at the news of the attack upon the seventh fleet. "Admiral!" barked Kyra, zipping sideways before gunning down several drones that had been closing on her. "We need to do something! The beachhead doesn't have a chance against a concentrated Neuroi attack with only the seventh fleet to guard it."

A voice that wasn't the third fleet's admiral came back over the radio. She thought it might be the flagship's captain. "Squadron Leader Evans, we can't turn our backs on the Neuroi engaging us now."

Kyra gave a growl that would have backed off her own familiar. "Shut your hole," she snarled. "And put the Admiral on, or so help me my next kill won't be a Neuroi!"

The officer hesitated. "Ah, the admiral is -" The radio was briefly broken up by a fuzz of static.

"Do you have something in mind, Evans?" Good, right person this time. "This is a pickle. If you witches winged south on your own, you'd be too exhausted to help by the time you arrived, and even our fastest ships couldn't carry you there in time."

"Taichou?" A slightly hesitant new voice crackled in over the frequency, one Kyra recognized as Megumi. "Rebecca has an idea!"

"What have you got, Kauffman?" asked the admiral.

Spinning, Kyra could see Rebecca joined with a formation of fighter aircraft, the blue-haired Karlslander blasting away at the leading edge of a Neuroi with her cannon. Even as she watched, the shell split open, and explosive shells shattered the core. With a keening wail, the Neuroi began breaking down into glimmering shards.

"The fleet has a number of V-2 rockets, does it not?" Rebecca said at last, breaking away and doing a celebratory barrel roll. She exchanged a high five with Luchini, the Romagnan doing a midair song and dance routine of jubilation.

"Yes, four of them, carried aboard one of our cruisers," said the admiral. "They have the range, but we have no way to target them. They can only follow a preset course, and besides, their warheads aren't powerful enough."

"I know," Rebecca suppressed a smile. "I'm not talking about shooting warheads at the Neuroi." Her voice quivered with excitement, and Kyra got a suspicion of where she was going. "We witches can use them to take us south."

The admiral was silent in apparent shock for several moments. "Using ballistic missiles as troop transports? That's insane."

"With Lieutenant Yeager's help, I can do the modifications inside half an hour. We just have to replace the warhead with a bracket system to attach to the witch's striker, and set their courses."

"Do it," Kyra said at once. "I'll take half the squadron southward. The rest will stay here to mop up the Neuroi and guard the third fleet against any more surprises. With your approval, admiral."

"Affirmative," the admiral said at once. "Kauffman, Yeager, return. Get to work. Whatever you need, you'll have it."

"Roger!" The two witches quickly broke away, their wingmen forming up with each other.

Kyra's earpiece chimed with a private communication. "Taichou?" It was Megumi again. "I wanna save them as badly as you do, but... no matter how soon we get there, it's going to be way too late..."

"Maybe we can't save them," Kyra said, her right hand curling into a fist. Those other witches were _her_ responsibility, and that whole fleet was in danger because the third fleet had fallen for what was by now obviously a decoy. "But you can be damn sure we'll avenge them."

* * *

Elise fired the last of her under-wing rockets, blasting apart a Neuroi weapon point that had been about to fire on one of the wounded destroyers. The red-haired witch threw up a shield as another hardpoint fired on her, and she grinned as Jeanette fired on that one, likewise shattering it.

Despite the best efforts of the diverse aviators and the destroyers, another carrier had been hit. Fire poured from a gash in the deck, and the ship's already dismal flank speed was dropping. One of the destroyer escorts – hull number 413 – dropped speed and turned hard. Though half the tonnage and weaponry of a destroyer, it threw itself between the lead Neuroi and the battered carrier. Its three Javelins screamed skyward. Two were intercepted, but the third hit hard enough to blow the Neuroi off course. Its guns, 5-inch, 40mm, and 20mm all opened up, chipping away further at the Neuroi's shell.

One of the destroyers meanwhile was in dire straights. Already hit multiple times earlier in the battle, it was limping along in a slow turn when it was bracketed by two Neuroi. The destroyer's remaining guns thundered in valiant defiance, but the Neuroi were merciless. Their red beams slashed repeatedly at the ship, burning through its thin armor, slicing through weapons, and killing crew by the dozens. Fires blazed throughout the ship, too numerous to suppress, and those that could abandoned ship. Moments later the fires began to die out, only because the wrecked destroyer slipped beneath the waves.

"Damn it!" Barkhorn's curse lit up the radio, and she slammed her machine gun into the side of a Neuroi. Speeding up, she cleaved through one of the creature's smaller wings, and watched with grim satisfaction as it broke away. Hikari fired into the open breach, ripping open large holes in the Neuroi's shell, but the core remained elusive.

As Hikari slotted another clip into her rifle, she tried not to let the hopelessness of the situation eat at her. In the confusion of war, no one knew where the third fleet was. They'd just lost a destroyer, and most of the other ships had sustained at least some damage. Many of the planes supporting them had gone down. She just didn't see how any of them could survive this.

"Lieutenant Barkhorn!" Hikari called, feeling a looming presence. "We have incoming!"

"More Neuroi?"

"No, they're fighters! Wildcats and Avengers!"

Fresh formations of fighters dove into the fray, attacking with the sun at their backs. Machine guns chattered and rockets rippled through the air. Hikari's earpiece crackled, and she recognized the voice of the task unit's admiral. "We still haven't been able to raise the third fleet, but the other picket task units in the seventh have scrambled planes."

Some of the numb despair started to drain away from Hikari's belly. They had to keep fighting. Witches were the point of the spear against the Neuroi and the bulwark around humanity. Hikari rolled away from one Neuroi's shot, then shielded as another fired upon her. Her breaths were coming pants now, but adrenaline and magic were still managing to sustain her.

"Join up!" Barkhorn called to Jeanette and Elise. "That one Neuroi's core is on the back right corner. Let's take it out together. Two by two!" Barkhorn and Hikari took the lead on the attack run while Jeanette and Elise followed a short distance behind.

A flight of wildcats formed up alongside the witches, adding their firepower as the targeted assault on this Neuroi began. Ruby lances slashed through the air, but the witches skillfully slid through them. Even some of the regular fighters managed to duplicate that feat, but just as many were blown from the sky.

A steady diet of lead and rockets ripped open the Neuroi's hull, and Hikari was sure she got a few hits in on the Neuroi's exposed core. Though her bullets did not slay the invader, the follow-up barrage from Elise and Jeanette succeeded in shattering it. The Neuroi dropped toward the sea, but disintegrated before it ever got there.

The dull roar of many cheering and whooping voices reached the witches. Down below, the crews of the vessels that had witnessed the Neuroi fall through the swirling smoke reacted as though their team had just scored a home run.

Hikari heard it first, the piercing whine of a Neuroi charging its weapons. She looked to the side to see red light slash through the air, but it hadn't been directed at her. Horror dawned on Elise's face a second before the javelin of light slammed her from behind. Red light washed over the lieutenant's form, and when it cleared, she was gone.

"Elise!" cried Hikari, but as the Neuroi fired again she hastily raised her shield. A growl came low in her throat, rage mixing with grief. It was the first time she had seen a witch die in combat, and in that moment she vowed it would be the last.

Barkhorn bit back a curse as she likewise was forced to shield, and in an anger she pushed back against the oncoming beam. After a moment it dispersed, but she saw no sign of the flight lieutenant. "Roy, form up with us," said Barkhorn.

"Oui!" Jeanette with her heavy striker pulled into a climbing turn, and she slotted a new ammo box to the side of her gun as she joined formation. "This is my last reload." Her tone was slightly mournful.

"We're all low," said Barkhorn. "And unlike the fighters, we can't afford to break off and find a carrier in a different group to reload from." She feared that if they did, there would be no task unit to return to. "Stick together," she ordered Jeanette and Hikari. "I'm going in up close. I can do a lot of damage that way," a grin slashed across her face.

Jeanette nodded smartly. "We'll cover you as best we can."

* * *

The six witches still airborne from the Tigersharks dove toward the last remaining Neuroi. Lucchini, Hartmann, and Sendai spiraled around the outside of the formation, plowing the road. Drone after drone projected by the remaining Neuroi was blasted to powder.

The final Neuroi had an odd structure, a flat central disc formed its main body while two rotating assemblies protruded from its upper and lower surfaces. Each assembly was composed of four slowly revolving blades, spinning opposite each other. Each blade was tipped in a weapon hardpoint, while the drones poured from a bay in the Neuroi's center. Katie had pinpointed the core as being in the Neuroi's very center, and along with Kyra and Megumi dove toward it.

The Neuroi fired, and the core trio of witches scattered and dove. Megumi passed deliberately in front of the Neuroi as she went, the air rippling with her passage. The Neuroi failed to notice the odd heat mirage before it, and plowed right into the product of Megumi's magic. The air had been left chaotic in the witch's wake, enough to shake smaller aircraft to pieces and knock witches from the sky. A larger object like a Neuroi shook erratically, its aim thrown off and its speed dropping.

"Now!" barked Kyra, opening up on the Neuroi's center. Katie's own 20mm cannon punched holes in the Neuroi's shell, and Kyra spotted the core. With a burst of speed, the squadron leader rolled away from a Neuroi beam and then aimed at the core. She squeezed the trigger, and was rewarded with the sight of the core shattering under a sustained burst.

"Ha ha!" Megumi cheered and did a little victory dance with Luchini, the junior members of the unit jubilant in their victory.

"Admiral," Kyra said crisply into her radio. "This is Squadron Leader Evans. Looks like we're clear up here."

"Roger that," said the admiral. "The radar is clear, nothing up there but you witches and our flyboys." He was silent a moment. "Squadron leader, Kauffman and Yeager report that the V-2 modifications are complete. They're ready to launch."

Kyra paused, debating which of her witches would be best for this operation. With their opponents destroyed, the witches formed up, hovering together.

"Kyra!" Erica said at once. "I'm going!"

The squadron leader frowned at the Karlslander ace, surprised by the eagerness she displayed. "Right. Clark, Santamaria, you're coming with us too." At that, Megumi pouted. The unit often joked she had a thing for Kyra, though Kyra had never seen any evidence of it herself. "Kauffman will have command here. Hopefully it'll be uneventful."

The witches returned to the fleet, which had been steaming north to meet them. Rebecca stood on the cruiser's deck, one of its rear turrets replaced by the V-2 launch platform. Carefully the four witches were guided down into their rides. The missiles' tips had been replaced by metal cones with brackets that would secure the witches' striker units in place for the journey.

"Remember," Rebecca was saying as the last, Santamaria, was secured. "It'll be a wild ride. That high up you'll need your magic to breathe and protect you from the cold. You'll arrive approximately ten minutes from launch. Don't try and maneuver, and wait for it to decelerate before disengaging from it, you'll be going about three times the speed of sound at peak."

"Hard to believe we can get there that fast, huh?" Pascuala shook her head and double-checked to make sure her weapon was secure. "Ready."

"Ready," echoed Katie.

"Me too!" said Erica, her carefree expression becoming a mask of utter focus.

"Go." At Kyra's word, her rocket's engine ignited. Flaming exhaust sprayed from special vents on the ship that directed the heat and pressure safely to the vessel's flanks, and the witch shot skyward. One by one the others roared after her, arcing high into the Pacific sky.

* * *

Barkhorn screamed down toward one of the Neuroi menacing the seventh fleet. This one had a slender hull and no wings, slicing easily through the air and kept aloft by whatever mysterious power the Neuroi possessed. There was a slight pinch in the upper and lower hulls along the center line, giving it a vague figure-eight appearance. A small bump sat along the left hand side of the Neuroi's dorsal surface.

The Karlsland ace weaved through sheets of incoming fire, always a step ahead of the Neuroi. If Neuroi could feel frustration, there was no doubt that this one had to be.

Tracers lashed the Neuroi's side, coming from a flight of wildcats. The Neuroi ignored them and kept firing at Barkhorn, seeming to realize she was a greater threat even as its flank was perforated. Closing now, Barkhorn sighted on the nearest weapon hardpoint and fired, shattering it. Another beam built up its charge, but the Karlsander snapped off another burst and that one too turned to dust.

Pulling up, Barkhorn then skimmed the Neuroi's hull. She drew her second machine gun again, and swung both weapons with reckless abandon. The boon of magic hardened her to the strongest steel, and with her amplified strength she left a stretch of cracked and holed hull behind her. Inverting and pulling up, Barkhorn had the perfect shot at the stretch of weakened hull. Bullets tore into the Neuroi's battered shell, opening up a wide swathe down its back.

A piercing whine emanated from all around her, and Barkhorn saw several weapon hardpoints all around her charging up. She pushed her striker into a dive, and flew right into the still-healing chasm in the Neuroi's back. The weapons flashed harmlessly over its dorsal surface.

Now inside the Neuroi, Barkhorn had a clear shot at the invader's core. A meat-eating grin split Barkhorn's face and she squeezed her triggers. Dazzling light erupted around her as the Neuroi, its core shattered, disintegrated into dazzling snow.


	3. What Damage We Can

Two of the four Neuroi savaging the horrifically outgunned Taffy 3 had fallen to the combined skill and daring of sailors, aviators, and witches, but aboard the _Johnston_, Captain Evans – no relation to Kyra – couldn't help but feel that they were overdrawn at the first national bank of lady luck. One of his destroyer's engines was down, fires were raging and the hull was breached, but at least their guns were still spitting pain at the Neuroi.

Holding a set of binoculars to his eyes, the captain frowned deeply as he saw the two remaining Neuroi angling for a wounded escort carrier. In a moment, he made up his mind, duty steeling his resolve and stoking his courage. "Guns!" he barked. "Fire on that cruiser analog!" he pointed to the nearest Neuroi, some five hundred feet of glistening shell and flashing weapons. "Draw their fire on us!"

_Johnston's_ remaining guns shot fire at the Neuroi, pummeling its shell and blasting apart weapon hardpoints even as they tried to charge. The other Neuroi turned hard, avoiding a spearhead formation of two witches and wings of avengers.

A tight, low smile of grim satisfaction appeared on the lieutenant commander's face. They'd bought the carrier a little time, but how long could any of them survive? It didn't matter, if they took all four Neuroi down with them.

The ship's radio crackled as one of the witches reported in. "Guys, I'm picking up more Neuroi coming in out of the north! At least three of them, possibly more!"

At that report, the officer ducked his head momentarily. But then he squared his shoulders and tapped deeper into his wellspring of courage. "Estimated time to arrival?" inquired another witch.

"N-not sure!" the voice of the sensory witch shook. "Not more than ten minutes. They're close!"

* * *

High above and many miles away, four ribbons of smoke arced high into the sky. Kyra gritted her teeth against the fierce vibration of the missile's enormous thrust, while holding a cocoon of magic tight around her form as a shield. It kept the wind and the cold from numbing her, and kept the incredible speed of the rocket from flattening her. No one ever tried such a stunt before, and Kyra knew that the lives of Katie, Erica, Pascuala, and herself were all in the hands of Rebecca and Shirley, for the modifications to the V-2s had been their doing. One mistake in the settings on the missiles or their modifications and that was it.

But Kyra held tight, determined and confident. _We've gotta make it_, she thought, her expression setting. The first to launch, Kyra couldn't see the others behind her, and was reluctant to move too much. About all she had done since launch was reach into the compartment where reloads had been stashed, to make sure she was ready when they arrived. "Everyone still here?"

"Erica, standing by!"

"This is Katie, I'm good."

The third voice was a groan. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."

The V-2s' rocket motors fell silent as the precisely-calibrated machines switched over to ballistic flight. The sky seemed thinner up here, as if Kyra could just reach out and touch the moon from where she flew. The air no longer roared in her ears like a thousand beasts, though she still felt its faint tug on her uniform. Even with battle imminent in her future, Kyra couldn't help but feel at ease up here.

"Squadron leader," said Katie. "I'm starting to detect the ongoing battle down in the gulf."

"Ongoing battle?" Katie's phrasing surprised Kyra. Since the initial radio message, there had been no word from the seventh fleet, and the worst was feared.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm detecting Neuroi, and witch magic." There was a pause, and Katie's next words came out strained. "Whoever's still down there is putting up a hell of a fight."

"Trudy!" exclaimed Erica, before giving a frustrated growl. "Can't these things go any faster?"

Pascuala giggled. "We're already going four times what your speed demon Yeager can pull off in her striker unit!"

* * *

Reinforcements closing, the two Neuroi seemed to take heart and press the attack. Their beams played through the sky, evaporating wildcats and avengers. They moved into close formation, spreading the shells of the naval guns between them so that neither took too much damage. Another charge built in their weapon banks, and together they fired on the battered _Johnston_. The destroyer's thin armor bubbled and melted, and the ship's magazine detonated as it was penetrated. The mighty warship became a 376-foot long fragmentation bomb, spraying shrapnel, flame, and smoke in all directions.

"No!" cried Jeanette, raising her shield to protect both herself and Hikari from the blast. "Are you okay?" Jeanette yelled over the ringing in her ears.

"Mm!" Hikari nodded vigorously, but she'd obviously been shaken by the blast. Her blue eyes drifted skyward. "Barkhorn!"

The Karlsland lieutenant had stooped into a near-vertical dive, spiraling around so that the Neuroi fire always seared empty air. With a furious cry she fired what was left of one of her magazines into the wing root of the Neuroi's triangular frame. As the weapon dry-clicked, she spun it around to grip it by the barrel. She swung it like a club as she dove past the Neuroi, puncturing its shell. Between its weakened hull and forward speed, the Neuroi's entire left wing sheered off and the invader went into a flat spin toward the ocean.

Leveling out, Barkhorn circled away from the Neuroi and climbed into a turn. Fighter planes and her fellow witches helped draw the attention of the other Neuroi, and Barkhorn set up to attack it as well. Finally it spared a shot in her direction, but the ace raised her shield in plenty of time.

Barkhorn heard another whine, much closer than the Neuroi she was fixated on. Without looking, she rolled hard to the side. A column of red light swept by, dazzling Barkhorn's right eye. At first, she thought she had evaded harm despite the sneak attack from the wounded Neuroi, but then her striker unit gave an unsettling lurch.

Looking down, Barkhorn could see that the damaged Neuroi was regrowing its missing wing and starting to stabilize. But she also saw a fine stream of coolant spraying from a buckled plate on her striker unit, along with smoke and embers coming out of her exhaust.

In that instant, Barkhorn knew she had two choices. In about five to ten seconds, her striker would explode. Her only choice now was whether she was still in or not. She reached down and yanked the ejection handle. In an instant the twin pods fell away, leaving Barkhorn to plummet toward the ocean.

The striker unit's two halves spiraled off in different directions, before succumbing to the battle damage and exploding seconds apart.

* * *

Aboard the _Samuel B. Roberts_, crewman rushed aft. The destroyer escort, already taking on water from an earlier hit, had suffered a breech explosion in the aft five-inch turret.

"Check on the turret crew!" said the most senior of the sailors to his fellows. He'd just spotted something around the side of the turret, looking like a pile of debris of some kind. His hand drifted near his service pistol as he edged around the turret housing. But what he found did not call for a weapon, and instead he removed his hat and placed it against his chest.

A witch lay on the deck, the tattered remains of her striker unit she attached to her legs. Her uniform, that of a Liberion aviator, was soaked with blood. Her face was likewise streaked with red, her eyes closed, her chest motionless.

He heard the shouts of his fellows checking on the turret crew, but he remained where he stood in mourning to the fallen witch. He searched for words of eulogy when he heard an inhuman sound. His hand snagged his service pistol, thumbing the safety off.

The witch he had thought dead lurched upright, coughing. One of her eyes remained closed, in pain or caked by blood, the sailor couldn't be sure. "H-h-how!?" The sailor, a broad-shouldered, beefy man, backed slowly away from the witch. Though his gun lowered, the fact that the witch was on his side didn't shake his alarm at how clearly unnatural this was. Even witches shouldn't have been able to survive losing so much blood.

That wasn't to say that Elise wasn't injured. Blood still trickled from several of her deeper wounds as she moved, her back felt as though it were still ablaze, and her legs stubbornly refused to hold her weight.

The sailor before her yelled for his fellows, and then knelt beside her. "I thought you were dead!"

"Me too," groaned Elise, standing with the sailor's help. "My magic heals me, and my striker unit. Only reason I survived Africa." Her lips tightened.

After a moment, her other eye opened, and the sailor watched in amazement as she seemed to mend before his eyes. Her blue eyes were drawn skyward, sighting first the two Neuroi remaining in the fight, and then more dark shapes on the horizon. "My weapon!" she looked around, but her M1919 was nowhere to be found. She must have lost it in the fall. Her ear felt as vacant as her hand, and she realized her radio was also missing.

"Dame, you don't look fit to walk 'round the block, let alone fight."

Several more sailors ran over, failing to conceal looks of shock at the fact that someone as battered and bloodied as Elise could even stand.

The two Neuroi pressing the attack had passed the destroyer escort, but the second wave was still coming. Perhaps because of that, or the increasingly sharp list, the "Abandon ship!" order was issued over loudspeaker.

"We won't make it to the water before those space monster gets here!" said one sailor, his voice rising in pitch.

Another sailor, a crusty old bird, gave a chuckle. "What do you think? Go down manning the guns?"

The sound of twin radial engines sputtering and struggling to life cut in. A blue circle flickered dimly beneath Elise, the lieutenant looking pale. "Get clear!" she said, focusing so her engines started to smooth out a little. "I'll cover you as long as I can!"

"You'll need this!" a man passed Elise a Thompson sub machine gun.

Grinning, the redhead double-checked the weapon. Despite the strain that recovering from her injuries had placed on her magic, she managed a vertical launch. She positioned herself off the stern of the _Samuel B. Roberts_, maintaining position between it and the oncoming Neuroi. As long as she didn't fly around too much, she was certain she had the energy to shield several times.

* * *

"Barkhorn!" Hikari screamed into a dive, redlining the FM-2's radial engine. The flightless Barkhorn spread her limbs wide, trying to stabilize herself, but even with magic protecting her it was unlikely she would survive impact with the ocean.

Hikari's eyes were locked on Barkhorn, the distance between them dwindling rapidly. Coming on just as fast however was the ocean. Less than one thousand feet up, Hikari extended her hand and grabbed hold of the back of Barkhorn's uniform. The lieutenant gave a start, and Hikari throttled back while gently leveling out.

"Nice catch, newbie," twisting, Barkhorn grabbed hold of Hikari's hand in her own. One of the ace's machine guns was lost, but she still held the other.

"Mm!" But Hikari's thrill of success was short-lived. Five Neuroi now faced the group, the two in the lead confidently pressing the attack with their fellows coming up behind. "Lieutenant? What's going to happen...?"

"We'll -" Barkhorn began, but her eyes caught a glint of red and she quickly raised her shield. The barrier absorbed the oncoming beam attack, but the moment it abated the other lead Neuroi opened fire. The air squeezed from Barkhorn's lungs as she struggled to maintain the shield. The second stream finally abated, but the third started seconds later.

Hikari banked sharply to the side and accelerated, but carrying Barkhorn's weight slowed her greatly. The Neuroi kept up steady fire upon them, which Hikari was helpless to evade.

"Damn it," hissed Barkhorn, her shield flickering. In an instant Hikari threw up her own, saving them both when Barkhorn's shield collapsed a moment later.

Jeanette dove on the Neuroi, firing her machine gun in controlled bursts. But even as the armor-piercing rounds hammered the Neuroi's shells, they remained focused on smoking their more vulnerable target. Jeanette shattered one weapon hardpoint with a sustained burst, then dropped herself in front of another and shielding, doing anything to try and buy her comrades enough time to retreat.

"Ensign," Barkhorn snapped to Hikari. "This is a direct order: Drop me. I'll take my chances in the ocean."

"No way!" grunted Hikari through the effort of raising her shield again. She knew that Barkhorn's chance in the ocean was no chance at all.

"Don't be stupid!" Barkhorn's voice was almost shrill, her brown eyes lacking their hard edge as they looked up at Hikari. There was an odd, unfocused quality to them, as though she saw someone other than Hikari floating above her. "Save yourself!"

Hikari's hand tightened. She couldn't do it. Losing a comrade was bad enough. Losing one in what felt like a voluntary fashion felt a hundred times worse, even if the alternative was neither survived. "Now, ensign!" shouted Barkhorn, releasing her own grip on Hikari and trying now to actively worm her way free. But the younger girl's ears twitched, and then she smiled gently down at Barkhorn.

Startled by the ease of Hikari's expression, Barkhorn had to wonder if the strain of combat had finally cracked her.

A firestorm of lead rained out of the sky, deluging one of the lead Neuroi. Armor-piercing and explosive projectiles blasted the invader's shell, and the Neuroi listed sharply as the barrage quickly devoured it. A shot hit the core, shattering the Neuroi completely. Instantly, the barrage shifted to the other Neuroi. It rolled hard into a turn, trying desperately to avoid the tracers, but the weapons fire tracked it mercilessly. The hull over the core was quickly blown away, and the sparkling ruby turned to dust as an explosive shell struck it.

The four advance witches of the Tigersharks swung their legs under them, rapidly bleeding off the excess momentum their means of arrival had given them. The four V-2 carcasses, their payloads delivered, splashed down in the sea one by one.

Jeanette cheered loudly, waving manically, dignity forgotten. "Barkhorn!" Hikari said, beaming, her voice rising. "They made it!" The Tigersharks too were delighted, for they had arrived in time to save their comrades. High-fives were exchanged, as well as a few spare magazines.

Erica drifted over to Hikari and the hanging Barkhorn, relief evident on her face. "Trudy!" Erica slung her weapon and reached out.

"Hartmann?" Gertrude Barkhorn said, bewildered. The blonde grabbed Barkhorn in a tight hug, and to the stoic officer's intense embarrassment, kissed her on the cheek. Barkhorn's face immediately flashed red. "H-hartmann!" was Barkhorn's stammered reprimand. Erica released her, looking cutely mischievous. Even under Barkhorn's smoldering gaze, Hikari couldn't help but giggle. Katie smiled, and Pascuala chanted something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

Kyra coughed into her palm, but didn't fully hide her amusement. "Sparrows, status?"

The others were silent a moment, and so Hikari mustered herself to speak. "Three of us are okay, aside from Barkhorn's striker. Elise..." She trailed off, the words sticking in her swollen throat.

"But I-" began Katie, until Kyra raised her hand.

"We've still got three guests to set the table for," said the squadron leader. "Roy, you're with us. Senka, land Barkhorn on one of the ships, then get back up here."

"Ma'am!" Hikari snapped a salute.

"Assuming there are any left!" Pascuala teased, leaning her machine gun against one shoulder.

As Hikari turned about, her maneuvering sluggish with the extra weight, she could sense that several of the task unit's ships were still making good speed. She could find a safe place to land her lieutenant. Unfortunately, the destruction of her striker meant Barkhorn was out of the fight. The flight's spare striker unit, a beefy P-38, had been lost when the _Gambier Bay_ went down in the early moments of the engagement.

"Commence attack!" barked Kyra, yanking the charging handle on her Bren. Five witches throttled up, banking around toward the oncoming Neuroi. "Clark, Santamaria, on me! Hartmann, Roy, draw their fire!" The two blondes took the lead, tagging the lead Neuroi and then banking as though to attack its 'wingman.'

The first Neuroi turned sharply in the girls' wake, charging its weapons as it came to bear. Kyra grimaced, realizing that this would catch the witches in a crossfire. Fortunately, that first Neuroi was about to have other problems. "Clark? Core?"

"Bottom center!" said Katie. "We'll have to attack it from below!"

The lead Neuroi was larger than normal, exceptionally blocky too. Its hull was almost square, with concentric layers stacked atop each other. The smallest at the top bore two long shafts, each lined with red along its inner edge. Numerous weapons studded the behemoth's sides, and they sent wave after wave of red after the two witches playing decoy.

Erica and Jeanette dodged through the veritable net of beams seeking to ensnare them. It meant they couldn't land an accurate shot, but they were also doing a fine job of drawing fire.

A squadron of wildcats joined the two blond witches, their machine guns pecking at the Neuroi's hull before they scattered by pairs. They were among the few planes left in the battle zone, the rest either off rearming or resting in pieces on the sea floor.

Gunfire ripped into the first Neuroi's belly, and it fired a hasty counterattack to try and scatter its assailants. Pascuala raised her shield, but Kyra and Katie made it through without thanks to their speed-enhancing powers.

Katie's high-explosive shells failed to strike the Neuroi's exposed core, instead widening the hole in its shell. Kyra's aim with her Bren was true however, guiding a stream of steel-shod lead into the Neuroi's gut. The core cracked as round after round struck it, before finally breaking up. The Neuroi itself followed suit, but with the last of its energy it fired again. Red streams from the vengeful monster washed over one of the trailing carriers, rending the hull, cutting into one of the turbines, and scattering man and machine alike.

The two remaining Neuroi opened fire on Kyra and the others, momentarily forgetting about Erica and Jeanette in their quest for vengeance. "Cover me!" Erica grinned broadly before accelerating toward the belly of the Neuroi. Magic wreathed her as she rolled, and as she sped by the Neuroi, it rippled outward in a spiral of destruction. The _sturm_ smashed the Neuroi's shell along the leading edge of its underside, spalling fragments away into the air.

The wounded Neuroi banked away, presenting the girls with a wide target profile. Its move also brought many of its weapons to bear, and they quickly opened fire on the two troublesome witches. Jeanette quickly shielded, but Erica, still pulling up, looked over in shock at the oncoming barrage.

A blue shield sparked to life in front of her despite Erica's own lack of time, blocking the beams. "But how?" she wondered.

A light laugh from Pascuala lit up the comm. "Barrier projection, my power!" The shield winked out. "You owe me some candy!"

Erica grinned broadly. "I'll buy us a giant bag we can split!"

Kyra, Katie, and Pascuala took advantage of that Neuroi's distraction and fired upon it. It accelerated and dove in an effort to get away, but suddenly a dazzling blue aura surrounded it and the Neuroi's speed dropped dramatically.

Jeanette's striker unit sputtered badly, the binding spell she was using to drag down the Neuroi consuming much of her magic. "Hit it now!" she managed between pants, her body beginning to quake with the effort. After this she would have to retire from the battlefield, but she was confident that the aces could handle that last Neuroi without her.

Tracers lashed the Neuroi from all directions as the witches and several fighters pounced. "Under that fin, near the aft!" called Katie, having located the core. As one, the witches fired on that location, stripping away the bound Neuroi's shell and pummeling its core. The blue aura flickered out as the Neuroi disintegrated, and Jeanette dropped several dozen meters before she managed to get her striker unit back up to speed.

"Well done," said Kyra. "Go catch up with Senka, we'll handle the last one." The squadron leader flashed a very predatory grin, and then joined her squadronmates charging the last Neuroi.

"Surround and destroy it," ordered Kyra, her teeth then clenching. It was time to see how the Neuroi liked being outnumbered and outgunned, see if the space monsters knew fear. Erica zipped in front of the Neuroi, knocking out a chunk on the front right quarter with sturm before looping underneath and firing on it from below.

Like relentless wasps the witches stung and circled their target, blasting out weapons and weakening the hull around the core. Its regenerative abilities forced to cover so many areas, the Neuroi was slow in sealing the holes. Joining up, Erica and Katie rose near the Neuroi's tail and fired. The shell around the core broke open, and they pounced upon the vulnerable core, breaking it. The Neuroi gave a piercing wail and fired a final shot at Kyra, but the witch contemptuously blocked it with her shield.

"We did it!" Katie lowered her gun and she flashed Pascuala a V for victory, which the Hispanian gleefully returned. Kyra allowed herself a small smile as her comrades whooped in celebration. The remaining wildcats and avengers tipped their wings in salute to the witches as they headed back for their carriers. Against all odds, Taffy 3 had survived. The casualties would be heavy, but any sensible person would have expected them to be absolute.

"Let's go check on our fledglings," Kyra looped over and headed for the task unit's carriers. As the Tigersharks descended, Kyra couldn't help shake her head, and she saw the looks of mingled grief and shock on her comrades' faces. Nearly half the thirteen-ship group had been sunk, and of those that survived, most were damaged. Many who had survived the destruction of their ships now bobbed in the water, but at least now with the Neuroi eliminated rescue and repair operations could commence.

* * *

Panting and sweaty from the battle, Hikari drank half the canteen and poured the other half over her head. Water dribbled down her neck and face, soaking into her uniform as she passed another canteen to Barkhorn.

"Figures, eh?" Barkhorn said, smiling as she sat on the rack improvised to hold Hikari's striker unit. "That no sooner do we land than our friends finish off the Neuroi."

"Yeah," said Hikari. "I was going to offer you my striker unit, too..."

Barkhorn, mid-drink, gurgled slightly. Coughing briefly, she lowered the canteen. "Why?"

"You're better at this than I am," Hikari shrugged, trying to make it sound like no big deal. "It would have gone to better use."

"You should have more pride in yourself than that," said Barkhorn, offering Hikari a rare smile. "I've never been in a battle this lopsided. I never imagined I'd survive one."

"Plenty didn't," Hikari remarked softly. She thought of all the fighters that had gone down trying to protect the fleet, of the crews aboard the ships that went down or were hit.

Barkhorn nodded. "But don't let it get you down. Drink to the dead, and carry on in their name. Fight the enemy so that as few of our comrades as possible join the ranks of posthumous heroes."

Jeanette walked over toward them, leaning on a young naval ensign for support. "Are you two okay?" she asked. Hikari nodded, managing a tenuous smile.

Voices rose on the other side of the hangar deck, too distant for the witches to make out, but growing to cheers and applause. Curious, Barkhorn rose, and the others followed her over there. They nudged their way through a growing crowd, and were shocked by what they found in the center.

It was Elise, dirty, her uniform torn and bloody, but very much alive. "Jinx!?" Jeanette said without thinking. Turning red, she clapped her hands over her mouth. She tried very hard to avoid calling Elise that, but so many others did behind the readhead's back that it just slipped out.

"Jinx, nothing!" said one of the sailors gathered around her, like his fellows his uniform and hair were wet. All were grinning and laughing, speaking praise. One even had an arm around her shoulders in a familial way. "This lady is our good luck charm." The man, a petty officer, playfully ruffled Elise's hair.

"B-but how!?" stammered Hikari. "I-I saw you..."

"She survived, barely," said one of the sailors. "She crash-landed on the Sammy B. We were already pretty banged up, and when the Neuroi closed in, she covered the ship long enough for most of the crew to get out."

Hikari and Jeanette stepped forward and hugged Elise, and the redhead smiled down at her juniors before putting her arms around them. Elise straightened up. "We did it, didn't we?"

Lieutenant Barkhorn nodded. "This makes ten Neuroi today. They shouldn't be able to replace those kinds of losses in the time it takes us to get the base set up."

"Then we can focus on taking down the hive," Jeanette said. Sailors and witches alike cheered at that sentiment.

* * *

End


End file.
